Mike Vrabel is the head coach of the New England Patriots. It seemed like this was always the plan when they fired first-year head coach Jerod Mayo. The New England Patriots hired former player Mike Vrabel to be the head coach. A year after being let go from the Tennessee Titans, Vrabel gets his second coaching stint with the hopes of returning the Patriots to former glory and becoming an AFC powerhouse.
Mike Vrabel’s Coaching History
Vrabel spent five seasons as the head coach of the Tennessee Titans. He finished with an overall winning record but never seemed to put himself in the upper echelon of the coaching list. Despite making an AFC championship the Titans were never considered a potential Super Bowl contenders. Vrabel surrounded himself with talented assistant coaches like Arthur Smith and Matt LaFleur, both who went on to be head coaches. Some of Vrabel’s other assistants are still in the league and highly regarded in their positions. Vrabel’s defensive expertise and focus have always produced solid numbers on that side of the ball but in a league leaning evermore towards the offense he has been slow to adjust.
Passing Attack
You have to believe that Vrabel took the job not only because of his familiarity with the organization but also because he believes in quarterback Drake Maye. Maybe had a solid rookie season after taking over for Jacoby Brissett. I have two big concerns for the overall passing attack right now. One is the wide receiving option. With a new coach, none of the current group of receivers have any connection to Vrabel. They have all underperformed and yet to step up to be a true number one. It would assume that a near-complete overhaul is incoming. Between free agency and the draft Vrabel will have to find guys to support Maye in his development.
The second is the history of the Patriots in evaluating and drafting wide receivers. Yes, it is now Eliot Wolfe and not Bill Belichick but the 2024 class was less than impressive. Can the combination of Vrable and Wolfe identify the right guy to bring in? History would say no. Even Vrabel’s history is iffy outside of A.J. Brown. With a draft class that isn’t as deep as the previous years, finding the diamond in the rough will be key.
Running Attack
Looking at Vrabel’s time as the head coach of the Titans it’s a clear run-heavy offense. In all but his first season, running back Derrick Henry was the league leader in rushing attempts per game. He was often first overall in total carries. Even in Vrabel’s first season, Henry was 11th overall in total carries. So signs would point to Rhamondre Stevenson being a workhorse back in 2025. Antonio Gibson should remain on the team but was underutilized this past season. He was a lead back for the Washington Commanders back in 2021 so he may push Rhamondre for the starting role.
Can Rhamondre handle that level of workload? That’s a question that will be answered in 2025. Stevenson is locked in until at least 2027 when the Patriots have a potential opt-out. They could decide to bring in a young complimentary back during the draft. This projects as a deep running back class. The role will be Stevenson’s to lose. Stevenson has averaged just under four yards per carry over the past two seasons. He hasn’t played a full season since 2021 where he saw 210 carries and 88 targets. That year he averaged 4.95 yards per carry. The offensive line will be a question mark. They ranked dead last in the league this past season.
Reason for Doubt
While I think Mike Vrabel is a good coach he does not strike me as a great coach. My biggest fear is the development of young talent, especially Drake Maye. We can debate how much he is responsible for the draft picks in Tennessee but the development of those picks falls on him and his coaching staff. Vrabel is a defensive coach, most of the draft success he has had is on the defensive side of the ball. Jeffery Simmons, Amani Hooker, and Kristian Fulton all had a handful of seasons as a starter for the Titans.
Other than A.J. Brown and Nate Davis there hasn’t been an offensive player to start more than 2 years for the Titans. So how good is Vrabel at scouting, evaluating, drafting, and developing young offensive talent? The history is not great. Was he part of the A.J. Brown trade? He is certainly not blameless. He is a part of drafting Treylon Burks to replace him. Combine him with a front office that hasn’t done great drafting offensive talent, especially at the wide receiver positions and the outlook is bleak. The fact that most of Vrabel’s success came with a veteran quarterback brought in via free agency gives me worry about what he can do with what projects to be one of the youngest teams in the league
Reason for Hope
Vrabel is considered a leader of men. What does that mean? Well to most it means that his players love him and fight for him. That is evident by the record the Titans had during his tenure. He had a team that on paper should be fighting for a .500 record. Despite that, he took those teams to multiple winning seasons including a one overall seed in the AFC in 2021. Getting more with less is what Vrabel is known for. Yes, he had two down seasons to end his time in Nashville but many believe that was caused by a front office handcuffing him and trading away his best player in A.J. Brown.
Considering the amount of holes the Patriots have he will have to coach them up. Building that culture of effort and winning is why they brought in Vrabel. It’s what is going to be expected of him. He has a ton of cap space to bring in players to help with that, and he has a full complement of draft picks to start building the future. Between that and the plucky underperforming players on the roster, Vrabel should be able to elevate them.
Drake Maye’s questionable future
Current wide receivers downgrade
Rhamondre Stevenson volume king
